Revis(it)ing nuclear history: narrative conflict at the bradbury science museum ∗

Nuclear criticism theorizes culture as the site of struggle between ideological narratives seeking authority over the meaning of nuclear symbols. Following the end of the cold war, various groups have conducted this struggle through public discourse about U.S. nuclear weapons organizations. This paper examines symbolic conflict over the history and future of one such organization, the Los Alamos National Laboratory. This conflict was conducted between pro-nuclear Laboratory officials and employees of its Bradbury Science Museum, and local anti-nuclear activists. The conflict centered around the activists' construction of an alternative exhibit that was placed in the Museum, and that challenged its dominant narrative of nuclear history. Analysis reveals that the identities and activities of these two groups can be distinguished by three sets of opposing constructs: nuclearism/pacifism; monologue/dialogue, and fact/narrative. These frames guided the groups' interpretive practices, and heuristically condense the heteroglossia of post-cold war debate about nuclear history. They clarify, in turn, the process by which cultural memory is constructed and transformed to serve nuclear-ideological interests.     

Volunteerism Among Social Work Students During Hurricanes Katrina and Rita

Abstract

This study examined volunteer activities and predictors of volunteerism among graduate and undergraduate social work students (N = 416) from four universities in the Gulf Coast area following hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The convenience sample drawn from all social work students at these universities included 89% females, and 52% of the students were in a master's level program. Sixty-one percent of the respondents were African American and 31% were non-Hispanic white. The majority of students volunteered (97%) despite experiencing a range of hurricane-related stressors. Multivariate analyses yielded a regression model that best predicted heightened volunteerism, which included age, school site, previous volunteer experience, hurricane-related stressors, altruism, and increased commitment to social work values (R ² = .35). The strongest predictors of volunteerism were stressor, increased commitment to social work values, and altruism (betas = .30, .26, and .21 respectively). The findings are consistent with previous research on volunteering in times of disaster and with current thinking about posttraumatic growth .     

COMMUNITY INFLUENCES ON WHITE RACIAL ATTITUDES: What Matters and Why?

Tracing the roots of racial attitudes in historical events and individual biographies has been a long-standing goal of race relations scholars. Recent years have seen a new development in racial attitude research: Local community context has entered the spotlight as a potential influence on racial views. The race composition of the locality has been the most common focus; evidence from earlier decades suggests that white Americans are more likely to hold anti-black attitudes if they live in areas where the African-American population is relatively large. However, an influential 2000 article argued that the socioeconomic composition of the white community is a more powerful influence on white attitudes: In low-socioeconomic status (SES) locales, “stress-inducing” deprivations and hardships in whites' own lives purportedly lead them to disparage blacks. The study reported here reassesses this “scapegoating” claim, using data from the 1998 to 2002 General Social Surveys linked to 2000 census information about communities. Across many dimensions of racial attitudes, there is pronounced influence of both local racial proportions and college completion rates among white residents. However, the economic dimension of SES exerts negligible influence on white racial attitudes, suggesting that local processes other than scapegoating must be at work.     

A social capital approach to improving public relations’ efficacy: Diagnosing internal constraints on external communication

This article extends Heath's (2006) concept of fully functioning society theory (FFS) and argues that public relations can be used as a force to enhance collective social capital in communities. To serve this purpose, however, the effectiveness of an organization to serve its external publics is often dependent on the status and relationships the public relations function has developed within the organization. This paper provides a network analysis of a government agency in Jordan that illustrates the relationship between internal organizational social capital and the potential problems for establishing external relationships with publics. Implications for public relations research methods and theory are also discussed.     

Multimethod strategy for assessing program fidelity: the national evaluation of the revised G.R.E.A.T. program

This study reports the results of the process evaluation component of the Process and Outcome Evaluation of the Gang Resistance Education and Training (G.R.E.A.T.) program. The process evaluation consisted of multiple methods to assess program fidelity: (a) observations of G.R.E.A.T. Officer Trainings (G.O.T); (b) surveys and interviews of G.R.E.A.T.-trained officers and supervisors; (c) surveys of school personnel; and (d) 'on-site,' direct observations of officers delivering the G.R.E.A.T. program in the study sites. Results illustrate a high level of program fidelity, providing greater confidence in any subsequent outcome results.     

Double-crested cormorants and urban wilderness: conflicts and management

In this paper we examine the management of human-double-crested cormorant conflicts in urban nature areas using the Leslie Street Spit in Toronto, Ontario as our focal study area. We examine the management perspectives of various stakeholders and how they shift over time in response to site ecology and stakeholder input. We categorize management perspectives on a spectrum from complete human domination to near absence of human intention. Two broad management categories emerge from this framework: interventionist and laissez-faire. Interventionists recognized need for management of cormorants, laissez-faire argued for no management of a cormorant colony that has deforested 24% of the site through their nesting activities. We conclude that for urban nature areas, particularly those with a unique, rare, or contentious ecology, a hands-off, laissez-faire management approach is not conducive to improving human-nature relations. Rather, for urban nature sites nature management must promote a respectable balance between human and non-human life, for the long-term benefit of both.     

Climate Change Beliefs and Perceptions of Weather‐Related Changes in the United Kingdom

Public perception research in different countries has suggested that real and perceived periods of high temperature strengthen people's climate change beliefs. Such findings raise questions about the climate change beliefs of people in regions with moderate climates. Relatively little is known about whether public concerns about climate change may also be associated with perceived changes in other weather‐related events, such as precipitation or flooding. We examine the relationship between perceived changes in weather‐related events and climate change beliefs among U.K. residents at a time of below‐average winter temperatures and recent flooding. National survey data (n = 1,848) revealed that heat waves and hot summers were perceived to have become less common during respondents’ lifetimes, while flooding, periods of heavy rainfall, coastal erosions, and mild winters were perceived to have increased in frequency and cold winters were perceived to be unchanged. Although perceived changes in hot‐weather‐related events were positively associated with climate change beliefs, perceived changes in wet‐weather‐related events were found to be an even stronger predictor. Self‐reported experience of “flooding in own area” and “heat‐wave discomfort” also significantly contributed to climate change beliefs. These findings highlight the importance of salient weather‐related events and experiences in the formation of beliefs about climate change. We link our findings to research in judgment and decision making, and propose that those wishing to engage with the public on the issue of climate change should not limit their focus to heat.     

The estimation of small town aboriginal population change

In forecasting the effects of large-scale development projects on small town communities there is a need to consider the Aboriginal component of the population separately, not least to ensure the success of government policies regarding social welfare and Aboriginal advancement. This paper outlines some of the methodological and conceptual issues associated with the estimation of Aboriginal population change in the rapidly growing town of Katherine, in the Northern Territory, and reports on selected social and economic impacts of recent in-migration. Attention is drawn to the inappropriateness ofde facto population figures as a basis for planning and the need to estimate service requirements in the context of high population mobility.